A Look at Curling – And I Don’t Mean Hair

Curling. Not the hair tool, not the fries, not the thing you do on your bed after binging the Handmaid’s Tale. It’s the sport that we don’t hear much about until the Winter Olympics come around. However, the sweeping sport has gained much popularity in the U.S. with curling clubs in almost every state, including one here in Atlanta.  My family has always taken a particular interest in the sport though, so this post is dedicated to them (you’re welcome Dad). 

So, what is curling? According to the World Curling Federation “the goal of curling is to score points by sliding curling stones down a sheet of ice with the aim of getting as many of your stones closer to the centre of the house (the area that looks like a target) than your opponent”.  

It’s a team sports played with two teams of four. One person delivers the rock, or the curling stone, two people sweep, and one person sets the target. Each team alternates in sliding eight rocks per round, or end as its referred to in curling, for a total of 10 ends per match. After each end the team with the rock closest to the middle of the target or button scores a point. More points can be awarded for every stone closest to the button than the other team’s best stone. 

There's been international curling 🥌 every month for the last seven months… now it's May! Anyone else missing #curling already? pic.twitter.com/1SpFX7uIJ6

— World Curling (@worldcurling) May 2, 2018

Then what is mixed doubles? Mixed doubles is a similar form of curling that debuted at this past Winter Olympic games. In this version, one man and one women play five stones per end. One stone is strategically preplaced at the beginning of each end.  

Where did curling come from? The sport originates from Scotland where during the 16th century it was played on frozen lakes. In 1966 the International Curling Federation was formed among Scotland, Canada, USA, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland later in 1990 they became the World Curling Federation. Though curling debuted in 1924 at the Winter Olympic program in France, it didn’t become and official Olympic Sport until 1998. 

Who plays curling? Curling is divided into women’s and men’s divisions with Sweden ranking first in both. Scotland holds the #1 ranking in the mixed division and Canada in mixed doubles. As of February 2013, world rankings were released for wheelchair curling. Over 40 countries currently participate under the World Curling Federation.  

HISTORY. #TeamUSA wins first-ever #gold in #curling at the 2018 #WinterOlympics! pic.twitter.com/PffPkptuyE

— Team USA (@TeamUSA) February 24, 2018

In the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang the U.S. took the gold medal for the men’s division with Sweden taking home the silver and Switzerland with the bronze. For the women’s division the gold went Sweden with South Korea taking silver and Japan taking the bronze. In mixed doubles Canada won the gold, Switzerland the silver, and Norway the bronze. 

OK, how do I watch it? The first leg of the 2018 Curling World Cup begins Sep. 10 in China. The second leg is taking place in Omaha, Nebraska this December.